Congregation Bet Haverim

WELCOME TO CBH!

Come get to know us!

Looking for a place to pray, be with community, share a nosh, be inspired by music, meditate, make some friends or sit in silence? You are welcome.

We warmly welcome you if you are queer, straight, bisexual, gay, questioning, lesbian, asexual,
confused or prefer no label at all. We welcome all those who are single, happily married or maybe
not so happily, divorced and separated. We welcome women, drag queens and kings, men, folks
who are gender queer, transgender and people who are intersex.

We warmly welcome single parents, two-parent households, complex family constellations, people
seeking families of choice, children of all ages and even those who cry during the service. If your
family is multiethnic or multiracial, if you are a Jew of color or of white privilege, you are welcome.
We warmly welcome you if you invited your family or if your family made you come, if you are
seeking solitude or the company of others. We extend a special welcome to those who are over
60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast.

We offer a sincere welcome to you who are Jewish, are Jew-ish, love a Jew or like a Jew, to the
respectfully curious, to seekers of all faiths, to those of Sephardi, Mizrachi, Ashkenazi or unknown
descent. We welcome you if you embrace mysticism, if you question or reject God, if you employ
contemplative practice; if you are Reconstructionist, Conservative, Orthodox, Renewal or Reform; if you are a Humanist, Culinary or a Post-Denominational Jew.

We welcome those who are dirt poor or filthy rich or anywhere in between, come in a suit or heels
- or both - dress in jeans, color coordinate or mismatch, wear a yarmulke or don’t; have tattoos,
piercings, bifocals - or all three; have blue hair, no hair, a mohawk or a perfect coif. You are
welcomed equally whether you are more Jewish than Moses, have only a Jewish father, have two
Jewish mothers, are a Jew by choice, or a Jew without one. If you only come twice a year, don’t
call your mother enough, or still live with her, you are welcome.

You are welcome if you speak fluent Hebrew, stumble on transliteration, speak Hebrew with a drawl, never uttered a word in your life, curse in Yiddish, or sing in Ladino. If you’re Israeli, if you’ve been to Israel on Birthright, never been, an activist against the occupation, are passionately in love with Israel and/or are deeply conflicted, you are welcome.

A special welcome to you if you don’t have a perfect body, or work out too much; if you have
wrinkles on wrinkles, or have botoxed them away; if you rode your bike here, or your SUV, or came on your wheelchair; if you are a soccer mom, a football widow or a hockey dad, or if you detest sports altogether. We welcome artists, writers, students, singers and those who crunch numbers, retirees, practice law, unemployed, under-employed, teach, build, plant or serve.

We welcome you if you are down on your luck, or happier than honey on apples, tired of
religious dogma, are skeptical and suspicious, doubtful, hopeful, hopeless, selfless or self-
satisfied.

We welcome you if you’ve been having problems or are good with answers, or if you don’t like
“organized religion” —we’ve been there too. We extend a warm welcome to activists, the apolitical, accidental advocates and silent resisters, those who embrace the status quo and those who buck convention.

If you don't fit into any of these categories, you are welcome!
Congregation Bet Haverim is a synagogue for all of us.

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We invite you to join Congregation Bet Haverim in worship and in celebration. Corner us. Talk to us. Ask us about our experiences here at CBH; we'd like to get to know you, too. We encourage you to learn more about us and experience our community’s remarkable spirit.

Explore more of our website, come to one of our community events, attend a service. Our always-open-door policy even includes our inspiring High Holy Days services. If you’re interested in learning more about our Community School, call the office to arrange a visit on a Sunday morning during the academic year. You can even enroll your children in the Community School for their first year without joining the Synagogue.